The top-secret world that the government created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks has become so enormous, so unwieldy, and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs or exactly how many agencies duplicate work being done elsewhere. Award-winning reporters Dana Priest and William Arkin here uncover the enormous size, shape, mission, and consequences of this invisible universe.

The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America

In The Shadow Factory, James Bamford, the foremost expert on National Security Agency, charts its transformation since 9/11, as the legendary code breakers turned their ears away from outside enemies, such as the Soviet Union, and inward to enemies whose communications increasingly crisscross America.

LongerILiveLessIKnow says:"Intersection of national security and big data."

The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals

The Dark Side is a narrative account of the decisions the U.S. made after September 11, decisions that not only violated the Constitution, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. In gripping detail, Jane Mayer relates specific cases, shown in real time against the larger tableau of Washington, looking at the intelligence gained and the price paid. In all cases, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, our country's place in the world, and its sense of itself.

Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins

This essential, pause-resister narrative on the history of drone warfare by the acclaimed author of Rumsfeld explores how this practice emerged, who made it happen, and the real consequences of targeted killing.

The Great War of Our Time: The CIA's Fight Against Terrorism - From al Qa'ida to ISIS

The Great War of Our Time offers an unprecedented assessment of the CIA while at the forefront of our nation's war against al-Qa'ida and during the most remarkable period in the history of the agency. Called the "Bob Gates of his generation", Michael Morell is a top CIA officer who saw it all - the only person with President Bush on 9/11/01 and with President Obama on 5/1/11, when Usama Bin Laden was brought to justice.

Bruce says:"A non-political view and insight on the war on terrorism."

Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield

From Afghanistan and Pakistan to Yemen, Somalia, and beyond, Scahill speaks to the CIA agents, mercenaries, and elite Special Operations Forces operators who populate the dark side of American war-fighting. He goes deep into al Qaeda-held territory in Yemen and walks the streets of Mogadishu with CIA-backed warlords. We also meet the survivors of US night raids and drone strikes - including families of US citizens targeted for assassination by their own government - who reveal the human consequences of the dirty wars the United States struggles to keep hidden.

America the Vulnerable: New Technology and the Next Threat to National Security

A former top-level National Security Agency insider goes behind the headlines to explore America's next great battleground: digital security. An urgent wake-up call that identifies our foes; unveils their methods; and charts the dire consequences for government, business, and individuals.

The Presidents and UFOs: A Secret History from FDR to Obama

The UFO enigma has been part of our culture since the 1940s and is building to a worldwide explosion of acceptance today. Now, as governments around the world open their files and records on internal UFO investigations, the US remains steadfast in its denial of interest in the UFO issue. As more of the world's population accepts the possibility of an extraterrestrial presence, the demand is building for disclosure from the United States.

ISIS: The State of Terror

The Islamic State, known as ISIS, exploded into the public eye in 2014 with startling speed and shocking brutality. It has captured the imagination of the global jihadist movement, attracting recruits in unprecedented numbers and wreaking bloody destruction with a sadistic glee that has alienated even the hardcore terrorists of its parent organization, al Qaeda. Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger, two of America’s leading experts on terrorism, dissect the new model for violent extremism that ISIS has leveraged into an empire of death in Iraq and Syria, and an international network that is rapidly expanding in the Middle East, North Africa and around the world.

No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State

In May 2013, Glenn Greenwald set out for Hong Kong to meet an anonymous source who claimed to have astonishing evidence of pervasive government spying and insisted on communicating only through heavily encrypted channels. That source turned out to be the 29-year-old NSA contractor Edward Snowden, and his revelations about the agency’s widespread, systemic overreach proved to be some of the most explosive and consequential news in recent history, triggering a fierce debate over national security....

American Spies: Espionage Against the United States from the Cold War to the Present

Sulick reveals six fundamental elements of espionage in these stories: the motivations that drove them to spy; their access and the secrets they betrayed; their tradecraft, i.e., the techniques of concealing their espionage; their exposure; their punishment; and, finally, the damage they inflicted on America's national security.

A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies

This book says outright what many have merely hinted at: that President George W. Bush knowingly misused the findings of the erroneous and incompetent U.S. intelligence community to provide a pretext for war with Iraq. The author hones in on the systematic weaknesses of the intelligence agencies that caused them to ignore the crucial signs leading up to the attacks of 9/11.

The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man

It began with a tantalizing, anonymous email: "I am a senior member of the intelligence community." What followed was the most spectacular intelligence breach ever, brought about by one extraordinary man. Edward Snowden was a 29-year-old computer genius working for the National Security Agency when he shocked the world by exposing the near-universal mass surveillance programs of the United States government. His whistleblowing has shaken the leaders of nations worldwide, and generated a passionate public debate on the dangers of global monitoring and the threat to individual privacy.

Why Intelligence Fails: Lessons from the Iranian Revolution and the Iraq War (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs Series)

The U.S. government spends enormous resources each year on the gathering and analysis of intelligence, yet the history of American foreign policy is littered with missteps and misunderstandings that have resulted from intelligence failures. In Why Intelligence Fails, Robert Jervis examines the politics and psychology of two of the more spectacular intelligence failures in recent memory: the belief that the Shah in Iran was secure and stable in 1978, and the claim that Iraq had active WMD programs in 2002.

Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

Former general Stanley McChrystal held a key position for much of the War on Terror, as head of the Joint Special Operations Command. In Iraq he found that despite the vastly superior resources, manpower, and training of the US military, Al Qaeda had an advantage because of its structure as a loose network of small, independent cells. Those cells wreaked havoc by always staying one step ahead, sharing knowledge with each other via high-tech communications.

The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia

Far from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and al-Qaeda are fighting a clandestine war of drones and suicide bombers in an unforgiving corner of Arabia. The Last Refuge charts the rise, fall, and resurrection of al-Qaeda in Yemen over the last 30 years, detailing how a group that the United States once defeated has now become one of the world’s most dangerous threats. An expert on Yemen who has spent years on the ground there, Gregory D. Johnsen uses al-Qaeda’s Arabic battle notes to reconstruct their world as they take aim at the United States and its allies.

Amazon Customer says:"One of the better books I have read on terrorism."

Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon

Top cybersecurity journalist Kim Zetter tells the story behind the virus that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear efforts and shows how its existence has ushered in a new age of warfare - one in which a digital attack can have the same destructive capability as a megaton bomb.

The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency

In The Secret Sentry, Aid provides the first-ever full history of Americas largest security apparatus, the National Security Agency.This comprehensive account traces the growth of the agency from 1945 to the present through critical moments in its history, from the cold war up to its ongoing involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Pay Any Price: Greed, Power, and Endless War

Ever since 9/11 America has fought an endless war on terror, seeking enemies everywhere and never promising peace. In Pay Any Price, James Risen reveals an extraordinary litany of the hidden costs of that war: from squandered and stolen dollars, to outrageous abuses of power, to wars on normalcy, decency, and truth. In the name of fighting terrorism, our government has done things every bit as shameful as its historic wartime abuses - and until this audiobook, it has worked very hard to cover them up.

John L. Moncrief says:"If you care about our liberties, read this book."

The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth

Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Mazzetti examines secret wars over the past decade, tracking key characters from the intelligence and military communities across the world. Among the characters we meet in The Way of the Knife are a young CIA officer dropped into the tribal areas to learn the hard way how the spy games in Pakistan are played; an Air Force test pilot who fired the first drone missile in the Nevada desert; and a chain-smoking Pentagon official who ran an off-the-books spying operation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican

From a master chronicler of legal and financial misconduct, a magnificent investigation nine years in the making, this book traces the political intrigue and inner workings of the Catholic Church. Decidedly not about faith, belief in God, or religious doctrine, this audiobook is about the church's accumulation of wealth and its byzantine entanglements with financial markets across the world.

Company Man: Thirty Years of Controversy and Crisis in the CIA

In 1975, fresh out of law school and working a numbing job at the Treasury Department, John Rizzo took "a total shot in the dark" and sent his résumé to the CIA. In Company Man, Rizzo charts the CIA's evolution from shadowy entity to an organization exposed to new laws, rules, and a seemingly never-ending string of public controversies. Rizzo offers a direct window into the CIA in the years after the 9/11 attacks, when he served as the agency's top lawyer, with oversight of actions that remain the subject of intense debate today.

Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base

Myths and hypotheses about Area 51 have long abounded, thanks to the intense secrecy enveloping it. Some claim it is home to aliens, underground tunnel systems, and nuclear facilities. Others believe that the lunar landing was filmed there. The prevalence of these rumors stems from the fact that no credible insider has ever divulged the truth about his time inside the base. Until now.

American Coup: How a Terrified Government Is Destroying the Constitution

In American Coup, William Arkin reveals the desk-bound takeover of the highest reaches of government by a coterie of "grey men" of the national security establishment. Operating between the lines of the Constitution this powerful and unelected group fights to save the nation from "terror" and weapons of mass destruction while at the same time modifying and undermining the very essence of the country.

Schneier on Security

Presenting invaluable advice from the world's most famous computer security expert, this intensely readable collection features some of the most insightful and informative coverage of the strengths and weaknesses of computer security and the price people pay - figuratively and literally - when security fails. Discussing the issues surrounding things such as airplanes, passports, voting machines, ID cards, cameras, passwords, Internet banking, sporting events, computers, and castles, this book is a must-read for anyone who values security at any level - business, technical, or personal.

Publisher's Summary

The top-secret world that the government created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks has become so enormous, so unwieldy, and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs or exactly how many agencies duplicate work being done elsewhere. The result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe may be putting us in greater danger.

In Top Secret America, award-winning reporters Dana Priest and William Arkin uncover the enormous size, shape, mission, and consequences of this invisible universe of over 1,300 government facilities in every state in America; nearly 2,000 outside companies used as contractors; and more than 850,000 people granted "Top Secret" security clearances.

A landmark exposé of a new, secret "Fourth Branch" of American government, Top Secret America is a tour de force of investigative reporting - and sure to spark national and international alarm.

This book is a fascinating look at the reality and the dangers of the U.S. government's decision since 9/11 to become overly concerned with secrecy and classifying information. The government has become so concerned about protecting secrets that it now classifies too much information, impeding the ability of law enforcement operations to work efficiently and effectively.

On top of that, the government is now relentless spying on not just foreigners but American citizens as well with little oversight, citing the most baseless of suspicions and all in the name of fighting terrorism. The massive intelligence and spying system is guaranteed (if isn't already) to be abused in the future by administrations who want to target political enemies, as Nixon did when he ordered the FBI and CIA to harass anti-Vietnam activist groups and political enemies such as Daniel Ellsberg.

The end result, as Priest and Arkin expertly document, is that this giant system that we are literally spending tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars a year on is actually making us less safe. There is no reliable way to measure its effectiveness, and as Priest writes, many functions are wastefully duplicated by various govt organizations (CIA, FBI, NSA, etc.) across the country. The information needed to make sense of the whole mess and to put the pieces together to improve the efficiency is classified and accessible only to select few top people in government with the high access to classified information. Yet the system is so complex and sprawling in size that no one person would ever have the time to make sense of the entire thing. It has taken Priest and Arkin years to get some sort of grip on what's going on, and that's working full time on this project.

The end result is a vastly bloated system that enriches the private companies that make up Top Secret America all while hurting the ability of the law enforcement to stop possible terrorist plots. The government must sort through 1.7 billion pieces of communication it stores a day to find the 1 or 2 pieces that might give them clues to actual terrorist plots. There is far too much noise in the system, but the answer in Top Secret America to any problem, as Priest and Arkin write, is more not less. More departments, more organizations, more technology, more classification.

When we live in times where budget deficits are giving politicians excuses to cut important programs that help Americans, such as Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, it's increasingly unsustainable to continue to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on Top Secret America, especially when, as Priest and Arkin expertly layout, the U.S. taxpayer is likely not getting their money's worth for all the spending.

Full disclosure: I read many articles and books on national security every year and was previously familiar with a lot of what Priest and Arkin write about in this book (much from the articles they write in the Washington Post). I can see how it's easier for me to follow along in the audio recording given I know a lot of the acronyms already and understand what she's talking about. If you are new to this world, it might be a bit more challenging to follow along. But the book is well written and Priest does a decent job narrating her own book (though, she talks in her typical monotone voice which may turn some people off).

I recommend reading this book, whether through Audible or through a hard copy. It's very important information that every American should take the time to understand, because like I mentioned above, Congress is cutting social programs but continuing to expand spending on national security and intelligence. Should they really be doing that?

Could have been more interesting with a different speaker, less monotone. Far too much time & detail on the abbreviations of all the various agencies, like it is an important fact we are to remember?
The premise of the book is excellent, the paranoia of security, privacy and control and how out of control
the body of our overall security is. I certainly don't feel any safer knowing what I just read and would not be surprised if we experienced another catastrophic event. The finger pointing would certainly be interesting and equally disgusting. Have a problem, throw more money at it.

great book. not very experienced reader. the content overcomes the amateur narration. the narrator is not terrible, but she is often too slow and clearly not an professional reader. bad narration can ruin audio books.

The information Dana Priest reveals through her relentless journalistic efforts is not found elsewhere (at least compiled so completely).

What was one of the most memorable moments of Top Secret America?

Learning about the addition of 30+ new and specific intelligence agencies within months of 9/11, and scores more in the decade since, and how this information is barely known by anyone, including the taxpayers paying for them.

Have you listened to any of Dana Priest’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've heard Dana Priest being interviewed before (on The Diane Rehm Show, for example), so her delivery of her own material was consistent with her style and fine with me. She speaks slowly and deliberately, which apparently bothered other listeners, but it didn't bother me much.

Any additional comments?

I found this book intersting from beginning to end. The material Dana Priest uncovered is also profoundly frustrating. There's got to be a better way for America to stay safe.

What made the experience of listening to Top Secret America the most enjoyable?

The subject is fascinating, the research well-done and careful. The national security industry is, as we all had the sneaking suspicion, a gigantic scam, the details of which no-one without a security clearance will ever know. This includes your elected representatives in government.The sheer magnitude of this new industrial complex will make you laugh. Nervously.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Dana Priest?

My hound dog. A high-school student. A recent immigrant in their second week of ESL class. Any one of a number of well-qualifed narrators. Dana Priest's rendition of her own work is flat and dull. She often misses the punctuation and cadence of her own sentences. I'm not sure what it says about a book when the author cannot be bothered to read it so that it is expressive and engaging. She sounds like she's reading someone else's work for the first time.

If you could give Top Secret America a new subtitle, what would it be?

Dana Priest has an important story to reveal here: Spending on the war on terror is out of control, there is duplication of services, no one is keeping track of this.

However this is poor literature. The book jumps around in what appears to be a random fashion. The book is loaded with buzzwords, initials of govn't services, almost impossible to keep up with. I still can't remember what a skiff is. Dana Priest's narration is terrible. She speaks in a monotone. Next time pay for a narrator, Dana you cheapskate.

The book which is based on some Washington Post articles appears to be a hurried attempt to monetize the articles. I guess Dana Priest's appearances on Washington Week don't pay all of her bills. Priest should have used The Great American Stickup as a guide on how to make disparate information interesting and accessible. It's a shame this book should have been much better

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.